It may well be. But why did it take over 150 years of commerce with the Mediterranean and North Africa to show up?
Twenty years ago, yours would have been the obvious answer. Today, though, we have to at least consider that there might be another explanation.
I don't particularly favor a terrorist explanation for WNV. But I don't dismiss it, either.
Luck of the draw? Easier to accidentally transport bugs (the vector) than birds (the source of the virus)?
You know, in the course of a little reading this morning, to find out the name of that danged beetle (I get all neurotic when I can't remember the name of something--it was the Asian Longhorn beetle :D) I came across some interesting information. Most mosquitos here are not native. We've been bringing 'em over for centuries.
The newest arrival is one I've been hearing about for a few years, from mr. h's fly-fishing buddies--the Asian Tiger Mosquito. It is believed to have arrived here in 1985 in a shipment of old tires. It has spread all over the country, is extremely aggressive, and is nearly impossible to eradicate. The bites are also much more painful. But it's also a known vector for some scarier things than West Nile--eastern equine encephalitis, Dengue fever, yellow fever, and (hang on to your puppies) dog heartworm.
There has not been an outbreak of Dengue, but the vector to spread it here is already well in place. All it would take is one person to catch it in the Carribean, come home, and get bitten by a mosquito who would then bite a few other people. There would be an outbreak with no terrorist involvement whatsoever.
Which is why I don't see the reason for suspecting terrorist involvement now. If they could find 19 people willing to die all at once in airplanes, and God only knows how many willing to blow themselves up one at a time, it should be no big deal to find 10-20 people willing to fly to a hot zone somewhere in the world, deliberately expose themselves to something really deadly like Ebola, and immediately fly to five major urban areas in the Unite States. You wouldn't need to spend years & a lot of money researching and planning.
As for the "trial run" theory, why bother with a stupid trial run? Release something that actually KILLS a lot of people, stand back and watch. Why would a trial run be necessary? To alert the enemy and give him time to figure out what you're doing and stop you?
Today, though, we have to at least consider that there might be another explanation.
I don't think we ever "have to" consider something that makes absolutely no sense and for which there is no evidence.
But just for the sake of argument here, I will play along. Okay. "WEST NILE COULD VERY WELL HAVE BEEN SENT BY EEEEEEEEEEEVIL (and very incompetent) IRAQI TERRORISTS!! AND THERE ARE RUMORS THAT SADDAM IS HOLDING THE REALLY BAD STUFF BACK for the time when he REALLY NEEDS TO SCARE US!!"
(Boy, this is hard for me to do even as an exercise)
So what is Leahy wanting to do about this awful possibility? Is it going to be added to the pile of reasons to invade Iraq, depose Saddam, and utterly destroy anything in the region that remotely looks like a bio-weapon?
NO! He wants to "investigate". He wants to "assess". He wants to "see exactly what we're dealing with". I heard parts of his comments yesterday, he even wants widespread testing of the population to see how many of us were infected asymptomatically! How much is THAT going to cost? What will be the cost of that cost, in terms of what we wouldn't be able to spend on something useful? What will be the cost of the time spent "waiting" while we "assess" what is essentially a non-threat?
And, for those on this thread that favor the ridiculous "trial run" theory, answer me this--If it was a trial run, and Saddam/Castro/whoever is just sitting back waiting to see how effectively mosquitos are spreading his little creation, WHY are you so willing to provide him with specific information on JUST HOW EFFECTIVELY IT HAS SPREAD, including into people who have shown no symptoms? Wouldn't a mountain of feedback from the "dress rehearsal" really help the guy out on "opening night"? Why are all of you, along with that sterling character Leahy, so willing to ensure that the terrorists get every possible fact and statistic that our taxpayer money can provide, as to the sucess or failure of their endeavor?
I would really like an answer to that. From someone.